We left the offices without any issues. It was obvious the receptionist hated my guts, but he had been ordered to let us go without any charges. The fact someone had walked into his place, ignored him and walked brazenly into his boss's office…

“What’s Claire’s skill? She mentioned it to the receptionist at the guild.” I asked as we walked through the town. Bryan gave me an odd look before he responded.

“She gained it where she used to live. She worked with a… secretive bunch.” Bryan eyed me up for a moment before he finished the explanation, as though he was debating if he should reveal it at all. “To put it bluntly, she can tell when someone lies or tells the truth.”

“Wait, she can read minds?” I blurted out before a wave of embarrassment hit me. If that was true, why would she ever need to ask questions at all?

“Not exactly. She can’t tell what the truth is, but she knows when you try to hide it.” Bryan gave me a quick grin. “That’s part of the reason she trusted you so much. She could tell you held back some details, but you never lied to us.”

“Oh.”

That explains why she stood on my side so much, I guess…

“Well, that’s part of the reason. You remind her of an old friend. If I told you the rest, she’d probably kill me. I don’t fancy that, so I’ll leave it for you to figure out.” Bryan chuckled and turned back to the front. “She’s not as mature as you think she is. Everyone has a wild side, and hers is a bit more… unique than you’d expect.”

“Right.” Bryan’s words left me confused, but it felt like that was his intention. I could figure that out later, but one question burnt my mind more than any other. “I’m guessing its a rare skill. Do you know anyone else that has it?”

“She’s the only one with the skill. The description says so, and they never lie.” Bryan’s smile disappeared. “Ray always wanted her to come back to the guards because of it, but there’s bad blood between them. She trusts him, but the others are corrupt and untrustworthy in her eyes. One good apple doesn’t make a basket.”

“Wait, she never thought Ray lied to her?”

“Well, she said he always held back some information. That’s just how he is.” Bryan stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. “Why do you ask? Is something wrong?”

“He held back some information, but what he said was always the truth…”

Bryan watched as I spoke to myself. The loopholes in Claire’s ability were obvious to me, but maybe others had missed them. If Ray never mentioned his other plans, she would never know if he told the truth or lied about them. As long as he was careful with what he said, she would believe he was the only guard she could trust.

“Let's go, Claire is pretty mad.”

Bryan didn’t ask any further questions as he followed me to the wall. We walked past Karen, who had taken down most of her wares, and strode up the stairs two at a time. Claire and John were still in the same spot as when I had left, as though no time had passed. John gave Bryan a grateful look as he moved beside Claire.

“Go check on Susan. You promised to keep her safe, right?” Bryan pushed John back towards the stairs. “She’s probably annoyed you’ve put it off again. Don’t give her more reasons to beat you up.”

“Shut up, Bryan.” John tried to dodge past me, but I grabbed his arm and whispered a quick request into his ear before he could reach the stairs.

“Bring Susan here. I have something to tell everyone.”

He frowned for a moment before he nodded in agreement and ran off down the stairs. Bryan gave Claire a glance before he settled down beside her. There was no difference in his treatment compared to John's, and it was possible they would continue to stare in silence for several hours.

We don’t have time for this.

“What did you meet Ray for?” I asked. Bryan frowned at me irritably, but Claire woke up for her stupor as she looked at him.

“What are you planning, Bryan. Why are you speaking to Ray again?”

“It’s not what you think.” Bryan gave me a glare. “He turned up during our duel, so I wanted to know what his scheme was and what he wanted with Rook. He said he was just looking out for him.”

“Is that true, Rook?” Claire looked at me. Now that I knew about her ability, it was awkward to answer the question with honesty. She would know if it was a lie, but if I told the truth she would think it was a misunderstanding.

“We need to wait for John and Susan. They’re coming up to meet us.” I dodged the question as best I could. Claire didn’t look happy, but there wasn’t much choice. It was clear that if she went on the warpath, the rest of the group would be needed to hold her back.

“They were meant to get hitched today. I guess they’ll put it off for another year, right?” Bryan asked from the wall. “Susan is adamant it needs to be this day specifically. Did she ever explain why?”

“No, but she’ll be fine. I’m more worried about John. After the mess last year, I think he wanted to prove himself this time.” Claire answered his question, but what she said confused me even more. Despite myself, I felt the need to clarify what I had just heard.

“Wait, what’re you talking about?”

“Oh, you probably didn’t know. Susan and John are getting married.” Bryan smirked at me. “They already argue like a married couple, so they decided to make it official, I guess.”

“Be nice, Bryan.” Claire lightly smacked him on the head before she turned to me. “It was meant to be today, but after everything that happened they will probably put it off. Susan has said it needs to be on the tenth day of the tenth month, it’s a tradition from her village or something like that.”

The revelation had knocked me speechless. John and Susan’s relationship had looked strong, but to think they were that close and I hadn’t noticed… As my mind reeled from the new information, another part of Claire’s sentence popped out in my brain.

Tenth day of the tenth month?

“Wait, what day is it today?” I asked hurriedly. Claire cocked her head to one side before she answered my question.

“I told you already, it’s the tenth day of the tenth month.” Claire glanced back out across the fields. “You slept for a while, but you woke up just in time. Your friends will be arriving soon, right?”

I rushed over to the wall and squinted my eyes. Rose had said the others would arrive in the same place as I had, at the same time. Ray had said no one had arrived at all, but it was possible he had missed them.

"Don't worry, Rook. I have a few friends in high places. I got a message through a few days ago, and they promised to send all the backup they could." Claire gave me a smile as she spoke. "We'll be ready for when this god of yours shows up. Calm down."

"So no one has appeared up to now?" I turned back to the group, my heart hammering against my ribcage. "Neither your backup or my old friends have popped up. Really?"

“Well, you're half right. We got a message that Claire's friends arrived last night, but they are meeting with the town council at the moment. They'll come over when they're done..." Bryan laid a hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes. "Are you OK, Rook? You've been out for a few days."

"I'm... fine." I shook him off and looked back out across the fields. I had avoided thinking about it before, but now that the time was upon me it was impossible to ignore. We were about to fight a literal god, and I hadn't even passed my first advancement test as planned. Ray had made sure of that. As I stared towards the distant forest, a weird thought assailed me.

Wait, Rose said they would appear at the same time of day as I did. It's too late, they should be here by now... unless...

“What year is it?” My throat tightened as I asked the question. From everything I had been told, I had assumed one detail, an important fact that I should have checked. The one who sent me here had said I didn't have much time, and Rose hadn't mentioned anything about it, but still...

Claire pushed herself away from the edge of the wall and moved towards me as she answered.

“It’s the two-thousandth year on the calendar… are you alright?”

The truth was so heavy that it forced me to my knees. Maybe it was an unconscious terror at the potential truth that made me ignore the possibility. It was easy to assume they had sent me here a mere ten days too early, but now it was obvious that was incorrect.

He said I could save them before he got here. He made it seem like I didn’t have much time… he played me for a fool!

It was impossible to contemplate such an immense stretch of time. My brain had shut down in the face of it. Every single goal I had set myself was proved useless in the face of such an obstacle. Never mind the strength to fight a god, it was impossible for a mortal to live for so long without divine intervention.

“Rook, what’s wrong?” Claire pulled at my shoulders, but my head could barely lift high enough to see her. “Are you OK?”

Susan and John had come up onto the wall, but they watched the scene in confusion. Bryan talked to them, likely in an effort to explain what had just happened. Now that I knew John and Susan were engaged, the signs were obvious. The pair stood close together as they listened to Bryan’s explanation, and each of them had a matching ring on their left hands.

My mind had found a new thought to latch onto, which helped pull me out of the mire. Claire pulled me to my feet and stared into my eyes as she spoke to Bryan.

“Bryan, he might need to go back to the treatment centre. His injuries might be playing up.”

“That could be true. Come on, Rook, let’s get you back to bed.”

“No.” I shook my head and pulled out of Claire’s grasp. “I’m fine, I just realised something important, that’s all. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” Claire moved towards me again, but I dodged her hand.

“It’s fine, I have something important to tell you.”

“What’s wrong, John didn’t say much when he brought me here.” Susan rapped John on the shoulder as she spoke. John ignored her assault as he waited for my answer. I took a deep breath before I revealed the truth. It would be best to do it quickly, as if it was a bandage that needed to be ripped off my arm.

“The person who attacked me in the guild was Ray.”

The group went silent as they heard my statement. Claire stared into my eyes, as though she had searched my soul to find any hint of a lie. Bryan glanced sideways at her, but after he spotted that she looked as shocked as him he turned back to me.

“That’s a big claim, Rook. Why would he do-”

Before Bryan could finish his question, a loud crash echoed out across the fields. A ball of flame arced out from the forest before it fell down towards the wall.

Directly at the place where we stood.