“The t–t—trickiest part to evaluating a monster’s weak p–p—p–points is figuring out what’s hiding beneath its armor. You don’t put all your defense in your t–t–toes, after all.”

- Professor Rachele Mitterbug

Prince James was here.

How did he find us?!

My mind scrambled with the reality of what I was witnessing. From my position within the shadows of a large bush that smelled of apricots and pine, I watched as over fifteen people joined the armored princeling. Five of them behaved oddly, like they were too fatigued to even care about picking up their feet. They slopped about, halting in their gaits only when Prince James shouted at them to stop. A sixth person got up from the floor, and the light of the glowtorch hinted that blood and saliva dripped from their opened mouth.

Prince James knelt and lifted the person by their jaw. He smiled darkly at the young woman right before he kissed her viciously. The woman didn’t react. Couldn’t.

Anger simmered right beneath my skin at the treatment. Whatever his game was, it was sickening to watch.

“Oh, come off it. There’ll be plenty of time for that later, James. Let’s get camp started,” A familiar voice mocked the royal. Gavin waved his glowtorch toward the five stragglers. “Tell your whores to get started already. I’m starving, cold, and could do with something warm beneath my blanket.”

James tore away from the woman and wiped his mouth coyly. “Alright, you smug oaf,” The prince said. He stood up and addressed the five, who I also recognized to be all women of various races. “Prepare the camp.”

With that simple command, all six women went to work with rigid, methodical, movements.

By Coldor’s curse, he’s enthralled other Orions! The indignity and shock of it was overwhelming. I wathced for several more moments, unable to even consider my next move. I need to warn my friends. I—I need to get out of here.

I projected myself into the shoes of those enthralled women, and I knew with sinking certainty that one wrong move—one mistake—and I might join them. I had no idea how these fellow Orions were put under this accursed enchantment, but I didn’t want to find out via firsthand experience. I continued to observe them, the gnawing sensation of helplessness eating away at my resolve and my morality with each passing moment. James gripped backside of one of the women, laughing as she couldn’t move to slap away his unwanted advances. What kind of woman am I to leave them here? Like this?

I had no idea if I could actually follow through with it, but I silently promised these women that I would see them set free from James’ clutches. No one deserved this. Breaths as light as a second dusting of snow, I edged away from the noble’s campsite and around toward my own. I grimaced when I saw the now-obvious gouges in the trees that led back to our ‘haven,’ but there was nothing I could do about that now. I took my time, careful not to make any sounds when possible. It took me nearly another hour, but I made it. The second I stepped through the wards of our camp, the volume that greeted me was like a slap to the face.

“I shall not leave my friend and ally to die alone!” Elio yelled at Azuris.

“The worst of the beasts come out at night! You know that!” The tiefling retorted in an exhausted tone that only came when one repeated themselves for the hundredth time.

“We are Orions. We kill the worst,” Gwyn replied coldly. Two tomahawks were gripped beneath white-knuckled fists as she stood at the edge of our wards, back turned to me. Elio was the first to notice me.

“Thea! Praise the Shadow Lord and his infinite generosity! You’re not dead!...” He squinted at me with both hands propped up on his waist. “You’re not dead, right?” His mirth evaporated when he took in the haunted look written plainly across my face. “What happened?”

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“James. He’s here. And he has easily over fifteen to twenty people at his beck and call.” I drank in the warmth of both the fire and seeing all my friends alive and safe. It gave me the strength for what I had to say next. “He—he has enthralled Orions. All women…” I couldn’t get out more. Each of them knew what this meant.

“Shÿnka,” Azuris breathed.

“They’re gonna pay for this,” Elio growled. I had never seen my friend so enraged. The worst of them all was Lizzy, though not due to her anger. No, it was fear that clouded her eyes like some impenetrable fog.

“You—you can’t be serious?! No noble would be caught dead with that sort of magic. He wouldn’t go that far…He couldn’t…” She took an involuntary step backward. Then, in a whisper far too soft, “...not again.”

“We must free them!” Elio declared and he rolled up his sleeves to display his impressive tattoowork.

“Don’t be absurd,” Azuris retorted. He rubbed his hands on his leather trousers and took in all of our incredulous looks with another weary sigh. “We are protected here. We go out there, James and his lackeys will be the last of our concerns. We are in the second fold, guys—at night. Those Orions he has under his enslavement charms aren’t dead, but they will be if we just rush in blindly. The first thing that prick will do is use them as disposable meat shields. Trust me…I’ve seen it before.”

His words stopped us all short, and even my fervor felt tempered, if barely.

“So, what? We let them suffer?!” I demanded.

“Yes,” was his cool reply. I scowled at him, contempt and disgust transfiguring the stoic warrior before me into a heartless monster. “At least this way, they live.”

“But tomorrow, when the monsters have returned to their dens?” Elio pressed, and he looked ready to pounce out there right now if we gave him even the slightest encouragement.

“Tomorrow, Gwyn needs to get back to the entrance. We might be able to free those enthralled, but with cunning, not brute force. We can trail them and wait for an opening. When their guard is down, we break whatever is keeping them enslaved, and then use their combined force to repel those bastards, alright?” Azuris’ plan relaxed some of the tension in our party, but it was far from gone. “I’ll keep watch tonight. I’m accustomed to multiple days without sleep.”

“No,” Lizzy said quickly, much to everyone’s shock. She wilted slightly at all of our gazes, but swallowed hard and continued. “We need you in top condition if we run into anything out here. We’ll take turns.”

Azuris scoffed. “Have you ever actually taken a shift at a nightwatch? It’s not as simple as it seems—to stay awake for hours without wavering in focus for a moment.” Lizzy wilted further, but she eventually shook her head.

“I—I won’t be able to sleep tonight anyway. C’mon. Let me be useful.” Lizzy waited for anyone else to reject her request, but me and Elio simply shrugged.

“Ugh, fine. But if we get eaten in our sleeps, I will haunt you in whatever afterlife your people believe in. I swear it. I don’t care if I taste incredible,” Azuris muttered darkly before he strode over to his compact tent and crawled in without another word.

“How does he know he tastes good?” Elio asked those of us who remained. I chuckled, needing the relief.

“I bet he’s a nailbiter,” I retorted playfully, moving toward my own tent near the campfire. The smoke of the flames stung my nose, but it was a welcome change to the bile that still lingered on my breath.

“Those don’t count!” Elio replied with a wide grin. “No one eats the nails! Maybe it’s a tiefling thing? That’s the real reason they’re so terrifying that monsters don’t hunt them: it’s all a front to mask how scrumptious they all are!”

“Still doesn’t explain how they know that,” I said, grinning more easily now. I unlaced my boots from where I sat at the lip of my tiny tent and groaned with ecstasy at the release of pressure from the stiff shoes. I wiggled my toes by the fire, unconcerned with the ungodly stench that rose from them.

“There’s always that one guy…” Elio stared off into the flames like he was recalling some nightmare he had as a child. I laughed harder. Azuris groaned something unintelligible and we all laughed some more at his annoyance.

“I’ll wake you guys if anything happens,” Lizzy eventually said, and she wandered off to be outside of the fire’s light. I nodded appreciatively at her logic.

“Don’t wait until you’re nodding off to wake Mr. Grumpy over there with the two horns for his shift, okay?” I told my elvish friend. She nodded enthusiastically.

Content, I tucked into my wool-lined blanket and did my best to think of home. Sleep greeted me before my eyes were completely closed.