Alex couldn’t remember the last time he felt so tired.

He’d been teleported into the middle of the stadium by one of the referees, and immediately began searching for his family and friends.

“Selina!” he cried. “Mr. and Mrs. Lu!”

He desperately scanned where they’d been sitting in the stands, but there was no trace of them there. The stands were mostly empty now. Some spectators had been able to run for the exits when the demons appeared, some fought, others hid under their seats, some were wounded, others died. Now everyone left in the arena had been ushered down to the stadium floor. Watchers and medical staff were caring for the injured in and around a series of triage tents while Alex looked for his loved ones.

As he walked by, he realised the wounds he was seeing weren’t as numerous or as serious as those suffered by many on the beach. ‘That’s a relief,’ he thought, looking down at his own arm. It was healing now, and had been wrapped and put in a sling, but it throbbed at times, and there’d be a long ragged scar to remember Burn-Saw and his axe by.

The thought that Selina, the Lus, Nua-Oge or Sinope could have wounds like his or worse, made him even more anxious since he had no idea where they were. He needed to find them.

“Selina!” He shouted her name again, but the crowd was too thick and their voices too loud. Watchers shouted, directing people to the infirmary tents, medical staff called to each other for supplies and assistance, while spectators were doing what he was; calling out the names of missing loved ones.

No one even paid any attention to him: sadly, his situation wasn’t unique.

Shimmer.

Things became even louder.

In groups, the beach defenders appeared on the stadium floor; many soon began calling the names of their friends and loved ones who’d been in the stadium. Alex heard the same fear in their voices as in his.

“Mother! Father!” Theresa cried, gripping Alex’s shirt as soon as she appeared. “Selinaaa!”

“Sinope!” Khalik shouted. “Sinope, are you well? Sinoooope!” He turned to Najyah. “Go, seek them out!”

With a single beat of her wings, Najyah launched into the sky and soared over the crowd, scanning everyone below with her sharp eyes.

“Sister!” Grimloch roared, his powerful voice cutting through even the noise of the crowd. “Nua-Oge! Where are you?”

“Borrowing Claygon for a second!” Thundar shouted, climbing up the golem’s side and crouching on his broad shoulders. The minotaur put his hand up to his eyes, blocking out the sun to peer over the crowd. “Heeeeey! Selina! Mr. Lu! Mrs. Lu! Nua-Og-”

A screech tore through the air above, and for a brief, wild moment, Alex thought the demons had returned. He took a deep, steadying breath.

“Najyah’s found them!” the prince pointed up at her. “Come, they’re this way! Heeeeeey! Sinope! Selina! Mr. Lu, Mrs. Lu, Nua-Oge! We’re coming!”

The group—with Thundar clambering down off of Claygon—ran through the paths between the triage tents, passing medical officers, Watchers of Roal, city and school officials, the wounded and their loved ones.

Theresa had a tight grip on Alex’s hand and the two of them half pulled each other along as they raced toward their family.

“I can hear them!” Theresa cried in relief, her voice shaking like she was ready to burst into tears. “Thank The Traveller, I can hear them!”

As they pushed through the crowd, Alex strained his ears until at last, the faint sound of their voices began to reach him through the commotion.

“-esa!” he heard Mr. Lu’s shout. “Theresaaaa! Alex!”

A few heartbeats later, he heard Mrs. Lu, then Nua-Oge calling for her brother, and Sinope calling Khalik’s name.

And finally…a very young voice.

“Aleeex! Alex!” Selina’s voice was screaming.

A figure he’d known all of her life appeared just past a break in the crowd.

“Selina!” Alex shouted, sprinting toward her. His wounded arm bounced as he ran, but poultices did their work to keep the pain down.

They pushed through the crowd until the Roth siblings crashed into one another. Their arms wrapped around each other, and—as Selina burst into tears—all of Alex’s relief, fears, exhaustion and just the sheer amount of strain he’d been through, hit him all at once.

His face grew hot; tears welled up in his eyes.

Beside the Roth siblings, Mr. and Mrs. Lu grabbed their daughter and clutched her close; he heard them crying with relief. Mr. Lu was shaking as Brutus licked all three of them with all three tongues. Grimloch grabbed his sister and hugged her to his massive chest, while Khalik and Sinope paused, looking at each other.

A moment of silence passed between them, then Khalik spread his hands slightly. The invitation for a hug was there, open, yet not demanding. The dryad hesitated for a breath before stepping forward and hugging the prince.

Svenia and Hogarth leaned on each other’s shoulders, while Isolde watched the others embracing with a bit of a distant look.

Then two massive arms wrapped around her from behind.

Thundar hugged her tightly, and it looked like Isolde was about to say something. A glance at his face stopped the words in her mouth: though he didn’t make a sound, the minotaur’s eyes shone, and he quickly shut them.

Isolde paused, a red tinge creeping up her face until her distant expression crumbled and she hugged her friend right back, trembling with relief.

After a moment’s thought, Alex reached out to Claygon. A heartbeat later, he felt his golem’s arms gently wrap around himself, Selina and the Lu family, holding them all together.

For a moment, all of the strain and terror they’d just experienced slid from their shoulders, and they drank in just two emotions:

Relief and joy.

“It could’ve been much worse,” Mrs. Lu was saying. “When that Watcher shouted that demons were coming…I thought we were all going to be killed. Thank Uldar for The Watchers and for that…terrifying blue fellow from the front desk. If he’d been on the demons’ side…we’d all be dead!”

The group had moved from the triage area on the stadium floor to some seats at the bottom of the stands in a quieter spot. They all sat together while they recovered, sharing stories about what they’d been through.

“They started pouring out of thin air,” Mr. Lu said. “Never felt anything like it: like something was crawling across my spine when I looked at them. I froze up.” He shuddered, then looked at Sinope and Nua-Oge. “But these two young ladies didn’t, they acted fast with their spell casting and protected us. I’ll always be grateful to the two of them.”

Nua-Oge nodded, leaning against her little brother in the seats just above Mr. and Mrs. Lu. “I’m glad The Watchers reacted as fast as they did too; it was like they knew the demons were coming. As soon as the portals opened, they were blasting them and summoning monsters to fight them.”

Sinope gripped Khalik’s hand in the row just below the others. “Some of the audience fought the creatures with their own spells and weapons too. Many fought fiercely like we dryads do. But still, the demons kept coming. A little way into the attack, though, the…blue, horned one appeared. What he did…”

She shuddered.

“…I think it would be better for all our stomachs if I didn’t go into it further-”

Alex noticed Selina, Nua-Oge, and both of Theresa’s parents nodding. They all looked a little sick.

“-so I’ll spare all of us that, but as gruesome as it was, it saved many. I have to say I’m…impressed with the warriors of this city.”

“Mhm,” Mr. Lu said. “They really did protect us.”

“In some ways…it was like having the Heroes of Thameland right here in this stadium.” Mrs. Lu looked at her husband. “They protected us from those horrible monsters and kept us safe.” She sighed. “It makes me feel better. Maybe tonight we can sleep in peace knowing they're around.”

“I’m just glad you’re all okay,” Theresa gripped both her parents' hands while sitting between them.

There was a long moment of quiet.

“What happened to your arm?” Selina asked Alex.

“Oh, I got nicked and sprained my elbow,” he said, putting on a smile. “With the sling and all, it probably looks a lot worse than it actually is, but it should be okay in a week or so.” He paused trying to keep his voice light. “The medical staff would’ve fixed it up even better if they could’ve used blood-magic on me, but they need lots of mana to help people that were hurt more than me.”

“I’m glad it’s not bad.” Selina gripped his good arm.

“Me too, me too.”

Alex looked out over the stadium floor, watching the healers tend the wounded.

Blood magic. He’d need to focus on learning it.

Now that the demon summoner was caught, the expedition should soon be back on track. Hopefully, there’d be enough time for him to learn a blood magic spell that could convert mana into healing energy before they left for Thameland.

A stronger summoning spell would be useful too: during The Grand Battle, his Elemental Beetle swarms were a big help, and he also wanted stronger monsters to summon. If he’d had a few more allies to conjure, then maybe they could’ve grabbed Burn-Saw.

His mind went back to the scarred demon.

He’d need to ask Professor Mangal and Baelin how a wizard would go about finding a specific creature on another plane, though he figured Baelin would be busy for a while, with all that had happened today.

As though sensing his thoughts, Isolde suddenly brought the chancellor up.

“It was fortunate that Baelin used protective magic on us,” she said. “Were it not for his spells, I think things would have been much worse on the beach.”

“Good, I’m glad you had his protection,” Mr. Lu said. “Just like The Heroes or my great-grandfather, that’s the role strong folk should have in life. To hel-”

“Excuse me.”

Everyone turned to the tall, blonde young man standing by their seats. With him was a redheaded woman, a squat beastman, another tall muscular looking fellow, and a short brown haired woman with pointed ears and red eyes who wore goggles fastened around her head.

Alex remembered them as part of the first team they’d eliminated from The Grand Battle. He hoped they weren’t there with some sort of grudge because they’d knocked them out of the contest so-

“We just wanted to thank you,” the blond man began. “And uh…well, we were near your team on the beach when the demons attacked everyone. We don’t really have much experience in fighting since we’re just doing a summer prerequisite course for battle magic and we only entered The Grand Battle for practice and some fun. You guys mostly kept those demons out of the perimeter, so they went after you and not us. And you beat them like a rug!” He paused and laughed, but soon turned serious again. “So, if it weren’t for you…I don’t know if we would’ve all made it. Anyway, I…we only wanted to say thank you.” He extended his hand.

Alex reached out and shook it, followed by his teammates. The blond man’s gesture was repeated by his other team members. Each one expressed their gratitude and firmly shook hands with Alex’s group.

The red eyed woman said, “If you’re ever in the Brass Grapes, we’d definitely like to spring for the drinks…just as a little thank you.”

Then wishing everyone well, they nodded then left, heading back toward the triage area.

A long silence hung over the group.

“Well don’t that just tickle the spirits,” Thundar finally said. “Best damned thing I’ve heard all day.”

“It feels strange to me…” Khalik said. “We only focused on our own fight, but we affected the battlefield more than I thought.”

“They should thank Shiani, Rayne, Rhea and Malcolm’s team too, and Tyris, Vesuvius and Hanuman. …and especially The Outcasts.” Alex winced. “The demons went after them hard, and they’re the ones that paid for it most.”

“Indeed,” Isolde said. “And they should thank Baelin as well…I still wonder how he knew the demons were coming so quickly. If someone warned him…then they deserve thanks as well.”

###

“Are you alright?” Kybas said to Harmless, checking his familiar over for the fifteenth time. Baelin’s spell had long faded and they were surrounded by destroyed demons and plant-life. “None of those nasty demons hurt you, did they?”

Harmless was unharmed, luckily, and Kybas felt relief wash through him.

“Oh yeah, ask if the crocodile’s okay,” Professor Salinger said, while he inspected his ruined plants. “But not your old professor! Oh no, sure, I might’ve been nibbled on a few times but, eh, what’s the trouble in that! No worry for old Holden-”

“Ah.” Kybas paused. “Ah, sorry professor.”

“No, no, no!” Salinger waved his hand. “It’s a joke, a joke. I swear youngsters can’t take a joke these days.” The professor shook with nervous energy, but a giddy relief filled his voice. “You saved my life!”

Kybas blinked. “No, Baelin saved our lives.”

“Yeah, but who told me there was a demon summoning ruiner over there, ready to probably kill me while I tottered around like some ancient florist trying to arrange his flowers? It was you! You gave me the warning so I could call for help, and you also helped fight those filthy creatures off.”

“Ah…” Kybas shifted back and forth, very conscious of the fact that the only reason he’d heard the demon summoner was because he was here harvesting mushrooms in secret.

“He’s right, you know.”

Both Salinger and Kybas startled as Baelin floated out of the devastated foliage with his hands behind his back. “I had come to see if you two were alright, but from the sound and look of things, you are none the worse for wear.”

He looked at Kybas. “You were the one who discovered the demon summoner in the gardens, my young friend?”

“Uh…yeah, that was me,” he said, terrified that the chancellor might somehow know exactly what he was doing in the botanical gardens while The Grand Battle was taking place.

Baelin smiled broadly. “Excellently done, my little friend! Excellently done! Your warning saved many lives today and led directly to the capture of the demon summoner. It is exactly this sort of thing that makes me so proud of the students of my university.”

“…huh?” Kybas cocked his head.

‘But…I was just harvesting mushrooms!’ he thought.

“I shall see to it that you are rewarded with the University’s Milnos Thalaniel Award for Excellence in Service, along with an accompanying scholarship!”

The little goblin froze.

“And I am sure that the city will provide you with some sort of financial reward as well, even if I have to supply the funds for it myself. I know how those bureaucrats can be, pinching every coin. Hmmm…perhaps ten…no, twenty thousand gold, I should think. The demon summoner was a city-wide threat, after all.”

Kybas’ jaw dropped…the rest of him almost did too.

It seemed that his coin troubles would soon be a thing of the past for a good long while.

He looked down at his familiar, almost vibrating with excitement. “Harmless…I’ll be giving you enough mushrooms and potions to make you the size of a dragon.”

The croc looked up at him with his cold reptilian eyes before letting out a groan of satisfaction.