When we left, the moon was just a slim crescent in the night sky. The air was thick and humid. I felt weighed down just walking in the night-time air, and in only a few minutes of travel, my clothes stuck to my skin as if glued on.

Cicadas, or maybe crickets, sang without stop. It was an orchestra in the dark, the sound encompassing us from every direction. An occasional gust of wind moved the short grass like a wave and provided a moment of reprieve from the humidity. Somehow, I felt for a few moments I was back home on Earth. The feeling of nostalgia was only interrupted by the occasional rattle of Richard’s shield and mace.

We didn’t have a guide to bring us this time, and that was fine as we knew the proper path to avoid early detection. No one knew what we would encounter this time though. Were the gnolls going to be extra cautious because we had just attacked? Or would they remain lax and not expect a second attack so soon? We could also be walking into a trap, too.

The extent of the strength of the gnolls had probably never been tested as much as it had been by our involvement in the war. And it made me worry that they had powerful reserves that would now be deployed, especially since they had the courage to assault the city. It was this mission or nothing, though. Our ticket home.

We moved in our normal formation, and Jessica was scouting the front. The more we experienced this post-apocalyptic world together, the more I realized just how insanely lucky we were that Jessica had chosen the class she had. Her tracking was invaluable to our survival.

“Nothing besides scouts,” Jessica said as she surveyed the surroundings.

Maria stuck close behind Alan, “Nothing is good,” she said.

We made quick work of the forest. If there was one thing I noticed about our increasing power, besides the glaringly obvious skills, was our ability to adapt. I hadn’t gained any skill like ‘Forest Running’ or anything, but moving through the undergrowth felt only slightly different from walking on a clear road now. This terrain couldn’t easily hinder us anymore.

The statue that acted as our guide, and quite possibly our guardian angel, was in multiple pieces. It had been broken at the waist by a blunt object and part of the upper torso shattered a second time when it impacted the cobble stone. The hands and arms were in multiple pieces in the nearby grass, and the beautiful and pious face had been dug out. Like an animal had savagely bitten the flesh off in rage.

“Savages…” Richard whispered.

“It looks like they eventually made it here when they chased us,” Lucas added, “Careful.” It was clear they had tracked us back to the spot. Even though we had escaped to Rigar by then, traps and ambushes were now a possibility. I looked around with a bit more focus.

“Nothing,” Jessica said after a few moments. “Stay close to me.” We were hand-to-back in the dim night sky. Jessica moved swiftly while not losing us, expertly guiding us through the farmland. I thought she might have neglected to take into account the possibility of traps with how quick we were moving, but I soon realized that even at that speed we were going, she was scanning a route ahead for us as well as checking for enemies further off.

I could only imagine how fast Jessica could move if she didn’t need to lead us. Despite the fact our path of escape had been discovered by the gnolls, there were no traps waiting for us. We made it through the farmland and into open prairie.

“The map says to go three miles that way.” I pointed while Lucas and Jessica leaned over my shoulder. The moon barely illuminated a dozen feet ahead of us. We could see the mountain tops in the distance though, pitch-black silhouettes only visible while looking up at a backdrop of a starry night sky.

“It’s so peaceful here,” Anna said. And I agreed, without any light to interfere with the view, the clear night sky was a beautiful sight to behold.

We kept our steady pace as we traversed the open prairie. It was the middle of the night now, and with a few hours till sunrise, we had plenty of time to cover the three miles. The wind here came more frequently, and it howled now instead of whistled through the trees. I felt a chill up my back for the first time since we had left.

Every step forward might be a step closer to death, and yet I couldn’t stop from advancing. It wasn’t by choice though. It was by design. I had originally believed I was making the hard decisions; the reality was more that these decisions were forced upon us. To remain in the city would not only risk being there if the gnolls were able to storm it, but we would be caught up in the civil strife that unfortunately seemed to be heading towards open conflict.

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“We should stop just ahead,” Jessica announced after we had walked up rising ground for some time. “There’s about two hours till sunrise.”

The humidity that tormented me had seemingly disappeared. Now I was cold from the sweat that dried on me. Maria started to shiver and I could make out goosebumps on Glenn’s forearm. We were just a hundred yards away from where the dark horizon marked a pass between two mountains that rose to left and right.

There was nothing to keep us out of the wind that seemed to blow stronger and stronger from the direction of the pass with every passing minute. It was amplified even more by a steep cliff face to our left that seemed to capture the wind and send it back at us for round two. I suddenly missed the warm forest.

Our only option was to keep moving along the cliff face and towards the pass that the map showed as leading to the main gnoll encampment, about a mile out further down the far side. Despite the uphill march, we moved faster and faster as we crested the hill, wanting to get out of the cold wind. Once down the far side, it eased off and so did my pace. Even better, Jessica found a small cliffside cave with room enough for us all to hide inside. The moon had mostly disappeared on the horizon, only the top of the crescent still remaining there. In around an hour things would start to get busy when it was light enough for us to see the camp properly. From here, I could only make out a few deep red, smoldering fires.

The plan was simple: once the horn was blown back at the city, there should be some reaction from the gnoll camp ahead. Ideally, they would send reinforcements to their forest fortification and leave this place under-defended. We’d wait long enough to see if that was a possibility, and if it did happen, what were our options for tackling their commanders.

As Lucas ran over the plan again, Mark interrupted: “If they don’t reinforce, what then?”

“Jessica determines how likely it is we can succeed in finding their general and eliminating them,” Lucas answered.

I looked at Jessica. It was a tough responsibility to make that call, knowing that we might not have another chance at this again. This could potentially be the only time we could strike without them taking precautions. And I still didn’t trust the Yellow Prince’s agenda. It might be that once he learned of our mission, he’d prefer to tip off the gnolls in the hope of wiping us out than have the gnoll threat removed.

“Should we make a rule to help Jessica?” I asked everyone. “What is the maximum number of elite enemies we can deal with while fighting the boss?”

“Two,” Maria said.

“Three,” Anna followed right after her.

I sighed. “Assume that if we don’t succeed now, we never have a chance at the boss again.” It wasn’t entirely impossible that we could be trapped in this dungeon. As soon as I thought that I suddenly felt it wouldn’t be entirely bad. That idea passed as quickly as it came, though. The creators of this ‘game’ were sadistic, and I was sure that they’d never let something like living in a dungeon give anyone a free pass.

Being trapped in this dungeon likely meant death for us. How that would happen, I couldn’t be entirely sure, but it was a plausible idea that failing to kill the gnoll boss would somehow lead to the city being taken. Or a scenario where the Yellow Prince ascended the throne, and our heads descending to the floor.

“There’s maybe thirty minutes till sunrise, if that,” Lucas said, looking out the cave at the brightening sky, “we should all have our consumables good to go.” Everyone who needed MP potions had them, and everyone else had HP potions already. Besides that, we each had some miscellaneous stat potions available to us.

I only kept a VIT potion for myself, and the rest had been distributed to others. WIS was useful to me as well, but my undead troops didn’t expend constant MP, so I didn’t go out of MP as fast as say Anna or Thomas.

My skeleton warriors were summed for the first time in days, and definitely the first time since I’d gotten new equipment. The number of upgrades they had received was considerable, and to my surprise they even looked slightly different.

The bones of their frames were thicker and less brittle, and they were each a head taller at the very least. My skeleton general towered over the others, and little bone spurs had started to pop out here and there on his frame.

With a command I sent them moving, and damn they were fast. Before, I was most useful at blocking enemy attacks and playing the perimeter of our little attack squad, but now that could be changed. The skeletons were quick enough that I could run down enemies with them, and maneuver them through the battlefield to attack and defend, especially when the fight was spread thin. I was missing a single undead soldier since I had gained +1 to my summons, but that would be summoned after dispatching the first of the gnoll fodder.

An orange hue grew on the horizon until the top of the sun could be seen through the distant trees. The cold air still made me shiver, but in moments the warmth of the sun basked me from head to toe. We were tucked away and waiting just a few minutes from the gnoll encampment.

The air vibrated as a massive horn echoed in the distance. It was Rhugar’s battle call. “Be ready,” Jessica said. We waited patiently for several minutes, and then a hawk flew into the valley from the distant mountain top.

The sky was bright enough that I could see the raptor clearly; it swooped in with great speed and then a moment later, a horn blew from the gnoll encampment. Hundreds of gnoll reinforcements, and even elite generals, rushed out and tramped past us and over the rise, heading for the city.

“It seems our plan is working,” Lucas whispered.

Jessica waited patiently, closest to the cave entrance but safely out of sight, detailing the enemies leaving and how many. After twenty or so minutes, the commotion of march stopped, and in a few minutes more there was nothing but the sound of the howling wind once again.

“Let’s go.” Jessica stepped out of the darkness. It was time for battle.