I made sixteen of the Fireball shards that round, the last one came close to causing me to pass out. I had to make sure not to use more than two thousand of my mana in a fight, or I may regret it.

[ System Notification ]

Seven Rank D Jade Cores has given 84 Energy

Eight Rank C Jade Cores has given 128 Energy

5% Bonus: 9

222 Energy converted to 2220 Mana

I looked at my remaining cores, guesstimated how much Mana I could use for more shards, and made eight more of them before tossing the rest into my mouth.

[ System Notification ]

Four Rank B Jade Cores has given 80 Energy

Rank A Jade Core has given 24 Energy

5% Bonus: 5

109 Energy converted to 1090 Mana

My guess was a bit off, but not by much. I would regenerate the Mana over the next hour. I was content with the thirty-nine Fireball Shards. While the army slept outside the walls, I would begin to make my tunnels.

I went back upstairs and found Luin sleeping in the den's corner on top of a few of the bigger pillows. Jarrax was missing, probably asleep upstairs in his room. I slipped out the front door and headed towards the north wall.

I climbed up top and startled a napping Gnome, who probably should have been watching the army. He quickly got to his feet and gave me an embarrassed look. I shrugged the little guy off and looked over the wall towards the army.

It didn’t make sense. How was an army of maybe five hundred soldiers going to take a town with damn cannons on its walls? There had to be something else going on, or a part of the army wasn’t here yet. Even with my Nightvision, I couldn’t see any siege equipment. There were just a large number of fires going with a handful of men tending them. I assumed the others were in their tents, sleeping.

“How long have they been camping out there?” I asked, looking down at the guard.

He yawned and stretched. “Been over a week now. They haven’t had any reinforcements join them since. The only thing that’s changed is a few of the Beastkin said they smell something odd when the wind shifts. I think it's because those filthy humans haven't showered in a week. Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean you,” he looked embarrassed again as he looked up at me.

“Don’t worry, non-Human here. When did the smell start?”

“The day before last, I believe. Their war declaration's limit ends in four days. They either attack, flee, or become fair game for the town to hire the adventurers to clear them out.”

“Their limit?” I asked.

“Yes, sir. You have two weeks after you give The Guild your formal declaration of war. The Guild can not interfere with either side for those two weeks during that time. When the war begins, The Guild closes shop for seventy-two hours, and they sit in their protected castle while we fight for our lives out here.”

“I didn’t know that part. Why don’t you guys attack first?”

“Why? Look at them! There is less than a half league of men. We have stone walls and cannons. Why leave their protection.”

“I understand. It just seems odd that they seem so calm while being so unprotected. Everything I’ve heard said they razed each town in a single night. Who’s spreading that rumor? I can’t fathom it unless they have a high-level caster or two sitting in that camp ready to take down your cannons and walls without worry.”

The Gnome’s eyes grew a bit and looked back over the wall at the glowing campfires of the army in the distance.

“You think the Akhusite Kingdom sent some Amber or Ruby mages? My pa said nothing short of a Tier 5 Earth or Fire spell could take down our walls.”

I looked down at the wall I was currently on. It was easily three, maybe three and a half meters thick. The wall was some twenty meters tall as well. Looking behind the Gnome, the cannon looked primitive but large, easily three times the Gnome’s size.

“So someone who’s reached the Amber or Ruby tier could easily cast a Tier 5 spell?”

“I guess so?” he shrugged. “I haven’t seen many orange or yellow badges, let alone a red badge on the adventures who come here. So I’ve never seen someone that high in level. If the army has mages that high, I’m sure they will be well protected. The thing is, I haven’t seen any kind of uppity or nice looking tents or people among those over yonder.”

I looked back at the fire-lit army and tried to strain my eyes, looking for anything outside the basic canvas tents where someone with superiority or money to spare. My Nightvision spotted nothing as I swept across the army’s camp. Something seemed to shimmer in the back as I was moving across the tents, but when I turned back to see what it could have been, nothing but darkness. I figured it was a trick of the light with my Nightvision.

I bid the Gnome a good night and climbed the stone steps back to the ground. I kept walking along the wall till I found a dark part of the wall and lowered myself into the ground. I filled the top, so no one would accidentally fall into my hole.

I began creating Enforced Tunnels going down along the wall and was surprised to find them going down close to fifteen meters. Those who had built the wall had made sure it would stand for a long time. Once I got under the wall, I used my magic map to angle toward the army and started making narrower tunnels two meters across, just tall enough for me to walk without hitting my head.

I went slowly, focusing on the walls as I compacted the stone and earth, trying as hard as I could not to make too many vibrations. Over the next three hours, I had created a tunnel thirty meters below the surface and went under where I believed the central part of the camp was.

I then slowly made a tunnel going upwards. I created groves in the compacted walls to create a ladder going upwards. I monitored my map as I slowly neared the surface. When I was about a meter from the surface, I froze as I heard muffled voices and felt the vibrations of someone moving about.

“.....hidden….shakes….ground….Shut up………..hear……both killed….”

I couldn’t make out every word, but it was enough to worry. Had they felt me making the tunnels? If they had, why tell him to shut up? The ‘both killed’ seemed odd, but I couldn’t make any more words. Maybe they had moved away.

I made sure to enforce the soil above the tunnel and surface so someone didn’t accidentally find it by falling through the earth into my tunnel. I slowly climbed down and began to make branching tunnels to other camp sections.

Hours later, my Mana was drained, so I headed back under the wall to make a ladder up to my entrance tunnel and looked around. The light of dawn was beginning to illuminate the city. I hopped out of the tunnel and sealed it before someone could spot me.

I created a small ‘X’ out of the dirt so I could find my entrance the following night. I made my way to Jarrax’s house and opened the door as quietly as I could. Not seeing the red Minotaur round, I pulled one of the pillows away from Luin and went to sleep on the floor.

I was awakened sometime later by Luin’s shaking. Jarrax wasn’t on his chair, but I could smell something cooking coming from the kitchen. Luin walked into the kitchen without a second glance, and I fought the urge to close my eyes and go back to sleep.

Laughter from the kitchen caused my eyelids to open again, and I grumbled as I pulled myself to my feet. Inside the kitchen was Luin and Jarrax, the Minotaur finishing up a tale of one of their group's adventures by the sounds of it. Luin listened with rapport attention as she shoveled her food into her mouth, not taking her eyes off him.

A plate sat on the empty chair containing eggs and meat. I sat down and mechanically shoveled it into my mouth, listening to Jarrax go on about a Dungeon dive. He explained how Lastaf’s mate had gotten a potion out of a chest that had given her a free level but had turned the Axoli green, causing Luin to laugh again. The poor woman had to live with the color for weeks.

“So, how goes your ‘Guerilla’s War?’”

“It’s guerilla warfare, and I’ve created the tunnels I will use. I need to finish them tonight. One of the Gnome guards on the wall told me last night, if the army doesn’t attack within two weeks, the town can hire the adventurers to take care of them?”

“That’s correct, but it never happens. Their leadership isn’t stupid. It’s to prevent conflicts from taking too long. It’s mostly for those cities or villages that have a Dungeon. If a war goes on too long, the Dungeon may create a Monster Wave and cause more havoc than the war itself. I believe I have a book on the etiquette of war somewhere in my collection if you’re interested.”

“Maybe.” I looked at my Mana pool in my status window and groaned. I had regained less than four hundred of my Mana. I got but a few hours of sleep.

“I need to go back to bed. I’m hoping by tonight, ill have enough Mana to finish my tunnels. What happened at The Guild’s meeting yesterday? I forgot to ask last night.”

“Not a whole lot. It was a warlock hunt to figure out who broke the oath and remind everyone that those who do not make it inside The Guild’s halls before the barrier goes up better leave town and not interfere with either side in the conflict. The Guild Master also suggested anyone with family leave today, as they may not have another chance. It makes me think the Akhusites will attack sometime tomorrow.”

“Then I better do what I need to tonight. Thank you for breakfast, Jarrax. Could you perhaps protect the orphans in your home?”

“I can not shield any of the city's residents, Zeal. I’ve paid to have a shield artifact installed in my home. It will protect my home from almost any damage. Unfortunately, the kids can not be inside when it’s on, and I can’t bring them inside the hall. I’m sorry. The Guild’s rules can not be broken, and I fear once the Akhusite army has taken Meckingmoor, they will use any rules I’ve broken to get me thrown out of The Guild. Then they will try and hunt me down.”

“Damnit. Luin, will you stay with them tonight? Hopefully, I can take out enough of the army they won’t be able to get to the walls.

Luin didn’t even hesitate and agreed to stay with them.

“Jarrax. Have you heard how such a small army of soldiers has taken out the other towns? Did they use mages? Anything you’ve heard could help, even rumors.”

“The reports from The Guild’s scouts after the conflicts say almost the entire town or village had been razed to the ground. Almost nothing was left standing. Small craters made the scouts suspect some kind of explosion-type weapons or spells. This is the first location they will attack with a branch of the Adventurer's Guild within the location. Once the barrier around the hall comes down, we’ll be able to see what’s left with our own eyes.”

“So they have a mage or two with a spell, mostly a Fire spell that they use repeatedly? How much Mana would make a spell like that cost, and how many times could a typical, say, Amber, Ranked person cast?”

Jarrax rubbed his chin for a few minutes. “They would need many Tier 5 Mages casting Tier 5 Fireballs to create the destruction reported to stone buildings. A Tier 5 spell would cost a bit under a thousand Mana. A Typical Level 55 mage could have around five thousand Mana, so they could cast maybe four of those spells before they’re drained unless they have Mana Shards or other ways to restore their Mana. With the size of Meckingmoor, there is no way they could have that many mages in the Amber Ranks to level the town.

“Now that I think about it, there is no way the King of Akhusite would take a chance to send even a handful of his army’s battlemages. I believe the Akhusites have something else they used to take out the previous towns.”

“What could cause that much destruction in one night? What could they have up their sleeves?”

“There arms? I’m not sure why they would have anything up their sleeves. The only thing that could cause that much destruction in such a short time would be someone in the Rose Ranks or possibly monsters of the same rank. I believe they have a way to instantly bring the rest of the army, like a Void Gate or Teleportation scroll.

“The scroll would be incredibly expensive to use for each town. So more than likely, they have a Void mage who can create a massive gate for the army to march in as the fight starts.”

“How could I track the Void mage down?”

“Check everyone’s Stigmata? I know no spells, traits, skills, or other abilities that let you know someone's affinity. You’d have to wait till they reveal themselves and try and stop them from constructing the gate and connecting it to their base point.

“That's it! They would have to create a gate. No one alive would have the Mana pool to create a temporary gate big enough for an army to march through. They would have the gate parts stored inside a wagon of some kind. Find that, and you’ll cripple their reinforcements.”