I ran after the cartel leader, sheathing my short sword with a twist to lock it in place and pulling the cane out of my sword belt. In my right hand, I flipped my dagger in my hand to pinch the blade. Against these enemies, blunt damage was best.

A shambling group of stone men turned to face us. Two of them pulled back short bows and loosed.

The arrows whistled past Tom's left ear and right hip. He leaned down and smashed his shoulder into the closest enemy holding a bow. The weapon snapped like a twig. The tackle sent the stone man flying across the street.

"Tom—the head! Go for the eyes!"

"Go for the what?!"

Tom caught the sword swing of another stone man by the wrist. He slammed his fist into its face. The rocky surface crumbled against flesh and bone.

"Never mind."

I threw my dagger into the other bow-user’s face, snapping its head back. Thor charged in front of me, knocking the stone man off its feet. He stomped on its face, crushing stone and crystal under his hooves.

Good boy.

I willed my dagger back into my hand and turned to the sound of metal grating against stone.

Great, what’s he doing now?

Tom was crouched over the stone man he destroyed as two more approached him with swords raised and spears levelled.

"Tom!"

He stumbled back, a wild sword swing barely missing his head.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

I ran to his side. A stone man’s arm dangled in his fist, frayed copper and gold wires jut out of its shoulder joint.

"It would have been easier to take the sword."

He beamed at me.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Tom charged forward, swinging the arm like a mace at the stone man that attacked him.

I batted away a spear thrust with my cane, closing the distance and stabbing the blunt tip into the attacking stone man's crystal eyes.

More were shambling towards us on the right. On my left, Reed's guards were breaking through their lines. The Inquisitor was at the head of the charge, swinging her two-handed club in wide arcs that destroyed the heads of two and three stone men at a time.

Impressive but risky. Each swing left her wide open for a counterattack.

"Tom, we should-"

Before I could finish the sentence, a curtain of white fog rose from behind Reed's line. It rolled over Reed's line of guards, the retreating stone men, and… then us.

Isla, you genius.

The mist would put out the fires and slow down the stone men’s advance.

Tom and Thor turned into hazy silhouettes in the thick, wet fog. The moisture seeped into my clothes, making the fabric cling to me like a second skin.

I smiled.

She knew how to make me uncomfortable.

"C'mon! Let's keep going!" Tom said.

“Wait!”

The large man’s silhouette disappeared to my right.

I huffed. He was supposed to be keeping up with me.

"Thor?"

He grunted.

"Stay close."

I walked through the mist, following the sharp cracking sound of stone knocking against stone.

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An arrow whistled over my shoulder.

Great. They’re firing blind.

I prodded into the mist with my cane forward. In my right hand, I raised my dagger for another throw. I passed the broken bodies of stone men until-

"AAARGH!"

Tom’s cry of pain cut through the mist.

Damn it, Tom!

I pushed caution aside and charged. Ahead of me, a ring of silhouettes surrounded a large mass on the ground. The thin shadow of spears and swords rose in the air.

Shit!

I broke out into a full sprint, screaming to get their attention.

Come on… Look at me. Fight me!

Spears stabbed down. Swords bit into flesh with a wet chopping sound.

“No!”

I was too late.

Arwen, why did you trust me? Why did anyone?

BAM!

The head of one of the silhouettes disappeared. Its body fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

I skidded to a stop, shielding my face from the shower of debris created by the exploding stone men. Their headless bodies fell in a ring around the large, squirming mass.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The last of them fell in a hail of stone chips that scattered into the damp dirt.

"Tom! You alive?!”

"Yeah…"

He sounded disappointed.

I crouched over him. His grey work shirt was mauled, muddy from rolling in the dirt, bloody from over a dozen wounds.

He sighed.

"Why did ya have to save me?"

A strange question.

"It wasn't me.”

Thor let out a low whine, pushing his snout forward.

A silhouette, slightly larger than a child, emerged from the mist. Their green, catlike eyes shined in the dying light.

"Finnick?!"

At my realization, the curtain of mist swept past us down the street.

The soft squelch of footfalls in the dirt made me turn around. I squinted at the motes of golden light floating above Reed and her advancing guards. Castille and Dugan trailed a few feet behind, staying close to Isla and Arwen.

The Inquisitor narrowed her eyes.

"Finnick? Is Van here as well?"

The Dahlgeshi crossed his arms.

"No. My brother commands that we do not fight outside our property."

"Then why are you here?"

"The Lagos bird flies free. He commands the guards. Not me."

Reed quirked an eyebrow.

"Your participation has been noted."

Her guards advanced past us, forming a new defensive line. Reed heaved her long, spiked club over her shoulder, sweeping her gaze over the smoking buildings.

"Lady Kateen is mobilizing her forces in the Service Quarter."

She turned to Arwen.

"How are your forces?"

"Some of my runners found me in the fighting. Resistance is light in the Residential Quarters."

"Resistance light on our properties as well. The enemy is most dense in the Service Quarter," Finnick said.

Dugan and Arwen walked past me to see to Tom.

Castille moved to stand next to Reed, with Isla a few steps behind.

"That makes no sense. The Service Quarter is the farthest from the Mountains."

Castille's—no, Mother Geslin's words echoed in my mind.

Scratching below the surface—under our feet.

My eyes went wide.

“Tunnels! They're coming from tunnels!"

"Tunnels? Could they make a tunnel from the Mountains to here in less than a day?" Isla asked.

"Unlikely," Finnick said.

I shook my head.

"He's been planning this invasion for over a hundred years. He probably has tunnels all over the Dellends."

Like Southsun…

My mind imagined that elderly woman trying to fend off a stone man horde.

I think she would win.

Castille nodded.

"Now that makes sense."

Reed cupped her chin and... smiled.

"We'll pull back and create a perimeter around the Guildhall, evacuating any civilians we find to the Pit.”

She turned to me.

“You’ll look for the tunnel, or tunnels, in the Service Quarter. I’ll get Lady Kateen’s guards to help once they’re organized."

“I’ll bring Thor. Is that alright, Dugan?”

The stocky man was kneeling over Tom, fingertips pressed into his forehead. With his other hand, he raised a thumbs up.

Castille nodded.

"He’ll find that hole."

"Yes. You're truffle pig. So Jacob, the boar,-"

"And me. I’ll go with the elf.”

All eyes turned to Finnick. He snarled at the attention.

"If you want to seal the tunnel, you'll need me."

"He's right," I said before I could catch myself.

"I wanna come too!" Tom said.

Arwen blanched.

"You've done enough, nephew. Git back to the inn and let Dugan finish healing you."

He stuck out his lower lip, reopening the cut across his mouth for the second or third time. I wasn’t keeping count.

Reed sighed.

"You have your assignments. Now get to work."